


Love Potion

by KodiakSage



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Awkwardness, Brotherly Bonding, Crack, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Love Potion/Spell, Non-Consensual Touching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KodiakSage/pseuds/KodiakSage
Summary: Bolin accidentally spills a "love potion" on himself that amplifies the emotions of everyone around him, causing chaos, awkwardness, and hilarity everywhere he goes. (Complete)
Relationships: Bolin & Mako (Avatar), Bolin (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s), Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	Love Potion

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the same world as my "Love Like Ours" story (which tells the story of Bolin and his girlfriend Kira) but that one is definitely not necessary to enjoy this story (especially since this is T and that one is E). This is a fun little side adventure which is utterly ridiculous and cracks me up. I am supposed to be focusing on my Nanowrimo, but this was a very fun distraction! Enjoy!

“There's no such thing as a love potion,” Mako said, a surly scowl on his face. “This is all just made-up mumbo-jumbo to make people waste their money.”

Bolin held the bottle delicately in one hand, his eyes wide. “How do you know? There's all kinds of weird spirit-stuff out there now. Anything is possible, right?”

“No. Not even a spirit could actually make someone fall in love. That's ridiculous.” Mako turned back to the old woman he was interviewing, his little notepad in one hand, a pen in the other. It was annoying when Bolin tagged along on his cases, but...it did make things less boring. He was going to stop and have lunch after this write-up anyway.

The little curiosity shop's owner claimed that they had been robbed the night before, but at first glance, nothing seemed to be missing. The shelves were still crammed to bursting with strange devices, relics, bottles and incense, and the walls were lined with shelves from floor to ceiling. The only clear space was a small wooden counter, behind which the concerned owner was insisting that something extremely valuable had been stolen.

“It was my crystal ball!” The old woman wailed. “I need it back! Telling fortunes is my main source of income an without my crystal ball, my clients will be lost and I will be ruined!”

“Can't you switch to reading palms or something?” Mako asked dryly.

“You believe me, don't you?!” The woman pointed suddenly to Bolin, who, in his surprise, dropped the love potion. It spilled at his feet, a pink mist rising up and enveloping him for a moment. He coughed and spluttered, and when the mist cleared, Mako had crossed his arms and was glaring at his brother. “You will pay this nice woman back for breaking that!” Mako snapped. “I never should have let you come along.”

“Sorry! Sorry!” Bolin bent down to pick up the bits of the broken bottle, but the old woman was already scurrying over.

“Oh dear, oh no. Oh my,” she said. “You're only supposed to splash a few drops on yourself before a date! This is far too much! This is terrible!”

“Am I going to die?”

The woman peered into his eyes. “There is much worse than that in store for you, I'm afraid.”

“How can you tell, without your crystal ball?” Mako asked.

Bolin gasped. “Is my manhood going to shrivel up and fall off?”

The woman _cackled,_ her high pitched laugh filling the small shop like the jangling of a bunch of discordant bells. “No, no, no. That would be a true shame, in a specimen like you.” She put one wizened, spotted hand on his arm and smiled up at him, showing long yellow teeth. “The potion is meant to enhance feelings. You dab some on before a date, and a girl who finds you attractive suddenly really likes you. But an acquaintance who dislikes you will suddenly want to start a fight.”

“That doesn't sound so bad.” Bolin said. “Most people like me. I'm a likable guy, right Mako?”

Mako scowled. “You're annoying as hell, that's what you are!”

Bolin pouted. “Maybe that's just the potion talking.” The old woman's grip on his arm tightened, and she was pressing herself against him in a very...intimate way. When he looked back at her face, she looked _hungry_ —as if Bolin was the main course at the feast. He tried to back away, but there was a shelf behind him and he had nowhere to go. Before he could think of what to do, the old woman grabbed his chin and kissed him full on the mouth.

“Mmmmmfphh!” Bolin was pinned against the cluttered shelf, and the woman's grip was surprisingly strong.

“Get off of him!” Mako leapt forward and pulled the old woman roughly back by the shoulder. Bolin panted for breath, his face bright red.

“Mako, don't hurt her!” Bolin pleaded. “She's just an old lady, and I did break her bottle. Plus the potion probably made her do it.”

Mako just growled and spun, putting himself between his brother and the old woman, who was cackling again.

“Oooh you are going to have a very bad day! Serves you both right for not taking this robbery seriously!”

“Let's get out of here,” Mako said, pushing Bolin ahead of him out the door.

* * *

“What are we doing to do? What am I going to tell Kira? Do you think she'll be mad that I kissed another woman? I'm so ashamed!”

“That old con-artist forced herself on you,” Mako said grimly. “She was obviously just trying to rile us up. There's no way you're actually under a spell or whatever. How many times do I have to tell you that that's fake?”

“But she said—and you were annoyed and now you're _super_ annoyed, and...”

“I'm not super annoyed, I'm just regular annoyed,” Mako said. “And she was crazy.”

“Okay, yeah. Maybe you're right.”

They started off up the street, and it seemed to Bolin that people were looking at him funny, especially the women. He brushed it off as being in his head, but when the stopped at the corner to cross the street, a middle-aged woman turned and stared at him. “You have the most beautiful green eyes,” she said.

“Thank you!” Bolin said brightly. “I like your hat.”

“I like your everything.” The woman lowered her lashes and put a hand on Bolin's shoulder.

“Um, I have a girlfriend, actually,” Bolin said, still smiling, but getting nervous. Behind him, he felt a hand touch his butt and he yelped in surprise. When he turned around, he was face-to-face with a teenaged girl, who giggled and blushed. “MAKO! A little help?”

Mako pushed through the crowd of women now surrounding his brother. He grabbed Bolin's arm and pulled him away.

“Stop flirting! This is all in your head! We're meeting Korra for lunch and then I'm going back to the precinct.

“I'm not flirting! That girl touched my butt! And that woman said I have beautiful eyes!”

“So what? Your eyes look normal to me. Let's go.”

They managed to make it to the restaurant without any further flirtatious encounters. Korra was waiting outside it.

“Hey guys,” she gave them each a quick side-hug, but lingered on Bolin for just a moment longer than usual. “You smell good today Bolin. New cologne?”

“You wanted to talk to us?” Mako asked, sliding into the booth beside Bolin. Korra settled opposite them and sighed. “Yeah. This spirit vine thing has been going on for a while, and recently it's gotten way worse. _And_ way better. You're not going to believe this—but it's made a bunch of new airbenders.”

“I thought that Avatar Aang's decedents were the only airbenders?” Mako said.

Korra nodded. “They _were_. But not anymore. We've had two pop up in Republic City, besides Bumi, and Tenzin thinks that there could be more in other cities.”

“Whoah,” Bolin said. “That's amazing!” Korra locked eyes on Bolin for a moment.

“Did you change your hair?” She asked.

“Nope, same old stylish me,” Bolin said. “So...these airbenders. Does Tenzin have any ideas about where they might be? Is he going to train them?”

“Something is different about you Bolin,” Korra said. She reached her hand across the table and put it on top of Bolin's. He flushed pink and looked helplessly at Mako.

“The airbenders, Korra?” Mako tried to get the conversation back on track, but just then the waitress arrived to take their order. As soon as the young woman laid eyes on Bolin, she gasped and clutched her chest.

“Are you Nuktuk, from the movers?”

“Um, yes?” Bolin said.

The girl fainted.

“Now do you think something is going on!?” Bolin asked Mako. Mako was too busy helping the waitress up to answer, and Korra was too busy climbing over the table to Bolin to notice that the waitress had fainted.

“Korra? Korra no! You have a girlfriend! It's just the love potion!” He curled up in a defensive ball, but Korra wasn't trying to kiss him like he had thought—apparently she wasn't attracted to him in the least. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Bolin's head and clutched his face to her chest. His protests were muffled against her soft bosom, and he was prevented from escaping by her very strong arms.

“Bolin, I'm never going to let anyone hurt you ever again. I'm going to lock you up in a room full of pillows for the rest of your life. I _promise_.”

“Mmmfhfhmm!” While Korra's breasts were incredibly...incredible, he did not like the sound of her plans for him. Plus he had a girlfriend! He tugged her arms down and squeezed his shoulders so that it was more of a regular hug and then gasped for breath.

“Korra, I'm not a baby! I can fend for myself!”

Suddenly Mako joined the fray. “Hey! If anyone can protect Bolin, it's me! He's my brother!” He pulled Korra off of Bolin, much to the earthbender's relief, but then the two were suddenly at odds. Korra stood up on the table, looking down at Mako with a frown, squaring off and sizing him up. Mako looked equally ready to throw down.

“Nuktuk! Please make love to me!” The waitress, apparently revived, was crawling onto the seat beside Bolin.

“Aaaugh!” Bolin used his earthbending to blow a hole in the wall beside him, through which he quickly crawled and sealed up behind him.

* * *

“Who can help me?” Bolin moved through the crowd as quickly as he could, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. “Maybe a shower would be good? Maybe if I change clothes and wash off the potion?” He spotted the fountain in front of the Water Tribe Cultural Center and ran for it, plunging into it with a bellyflop and a face full of water.

“Hey! No waterbending in the fountain!” A pretty young Cultural Center employee hustled over and stood with her hands on her hips and frowned at him.

“I'm just rinsing off!” Bolin said, his voice high pitched. People were starting to gather around him, watching the commotion, which was the last-thing he wanted, in fact. The employee started to look grumpier and grumpier, and Bolin feared that she might jump in and drag him out at any moment. He scrambled to his feet, sopping wet, and sloshed over to the pavement.

“Oh dear,” A woman in a neat business suit looked him up and down. “You must be freezing!”

“I'm fine--” Bolin began, but the woman grabbed his jacket and began peeling him out of it.

“I'm calling the police! Swimming in the fountain is a class B misdemeanor!” The employee said. “Are you listening to me?”

Bolin was not really listening. The woman in the suit succeeded in stripping off Bolin's jacket, and was working on his undershirt when he managed to squirm away. He used Earthbending to put himself up on a platform two meters in the air, but it just made the employee shriek louder about defacing public property, and someone else from the crowd recognized him.

“Hey! He's that pro-bender! Can I have an autograph?”

“Oh wow, he's really good looking,”

“Police!”

Bolin leapt off his platform and landed in a roll that carried him up to his feet—and ran as fast and far as he could, until he lost himself in another, different and more indifferent crowd. He made his way to the University. Kira was smart and level-headed. Maybe she could help him.

* * *

The registrar looked up at him through her glasses, her eyes starry and her cheeks pink. “Do you want to enroll? I can sign you up for anything,” she said, her voice demure.

Bolin winced. “No, I just need to know where my girlfriend is. Which class—what room. Kira Takawa.”

“You don't need her,” The registrar giggled. “How about we find a room? You're kinda wet. And so am I.”

Bolin's cheeks turned crimson, and he tried desperately to keep the woman on track. “Kira. Takawa,” he repeated desperately. “Argh!” He massaged his face with his palms, trying to think of something. “She's an economics major. I think she has a history class now.”

“Well there's only two lecture halls in this building,” the registrar said, one finger on her chin. “If I take you there, will you come home with me?” She unbuttoned the top button of her blouse and quirked an eyebrow at him. “I won't take no for an answer.”

Bolin shook his head and ran from the registrar's desk, down the wood-paneled corridor to the first lecture hall. He stuck his head in and saw that it was half full of sleepy looking students—all men, and none of whom tried to run him down and make out with him, thankfully. The other side of the corridor was another door, and he burst through it, his last hope burning in his chest.

This hall was much more full, the seats in a slight stadium arrangement, the ceiling high and dark, a projector shining a large map of the Earth Kingdom covered in colored squiggly lines onto the wall beside him.

“Can I help you?” A gentleman with a neatly trimmed mustache and thick square glasses looked at Bolin with surprise. “Or perhaps you can help me...” He stepped towards Bolin with a look that the earthbender was beginning to recognize as lustful interest, but Bolin ignored him, scanning the dark lecture hall.

“Kira? I need help!”

“Bolin?” Kira clambered from her seat and down the steps towards him. She looked rightly worried at his half-dressed, damp and panicked appearance. Her face transformed as she got closer though, from worry to delight. She radiated joy at him like a miniature sun, and threw her arms around his neck with a laugh of pure happiness. “Oh Bolin! I'm so happy to see you!”

“Yeah, me too. I need your help.”

She began kissing his neck, and the other students were beginning to murmur at this strange interruption. Bolin took her hand and pulled her out into the corridor, shutting the door on the professor who was attempting to follow.

“Kira, stop please, I'm in trouble. I accidentally splashed myself with a sort of love potion and now everyone in the city wants to...like...um...” She hadn't stopped kissing his neck, and she was pressing her body against him in a very distracting and pleasant way. Bolin closed his eyes and sighed, then shook his head and pushed her very gently away. Deprived of his neck, Kira instead began to unbutton her dress.

“There you are!” A breathless female voice drew his attention, and Bolin groaned to see the registrar from earlier approaching, breathless and smiling.

“Kira! Listen, please! Do you know anything about potions or spells or...anything?”

“I don't need a potion to want to bone you,” Kira said. She slid one hand around his waist and the other slid suggestively down his thigh. Bolin felt weak at the knees.

“But would it would take some kind of weirdness to pull you out of a lecture class and start making out with me in the hallway of the University, right?”

Confusion flickered over Kira's face momentarily. “I...” she looked around, and her cheeks flushed pink. But then she focused back on his body, and her grip on him tightened. “I want you to kiss me,” she pleaded, her big topaz eyes full of need. “It doesn't matter why. You're the best thing in the entire world. My life revolves around you Bolin. I will do anything for you.”

“No, kiss _me_!” The registrar had made her way down the long hall to him, and wrapped both her arms around one of Bolin's elbows. He tried to push her away firmly, but she hung on like a octopus-crab. Kira frowned at the interruption and kicked at the other woman.

“Get off him!” Kira said. Bolin had never seen Kira be aggressive to anyone before. She was one of the most even-tempered and selfless people he had ever met. But when the registrar tried to push _Kira_ off of Bolin, Kira pulled her arm off of Bolin's waist and slapped the other woman smartly across the face. The registrar stumbled backwards, freeing Bolin from the unwanted embrace.

Bolin's mouth dropped open and then, before he could think too much, he grabbed Kira's hand and pulled her along behind him down the corridor and out onto the street.

“Where are we going?” Kira asked, breathless and excited. Her blouse was flapping as she ran, half open, and Bolin was only wearing his undershirt and pants, having lost his jacket to the mob at the fountain.

“Home!” Bolin said. She gazed adoringly at him as they ran, but she could only run so far before she got tired, panting and stumbling. Bolin put his arm around her and hurried through the streets, keeping his head down and trying not to attract attention—a difficult feat. A handsome young man and a few teenage girls started following them at one point, but Bolin managed to lose them at an intersection, ducking through the traffic so that they couldn't follow. It seemed to take forever before he arrived back at his and Mako's apartment, into which Kira had only recently moved, but they did at last. Kira looked a bit worse for wear, sweating and disheveled from her attempts at making out with Bolin and the mad dash away from the University, but Bolin sagged with relief that they were finally alone and away from anyone else who might try to come on to him.

At least, he thought he was alone. When he turned to the kitchen, Mako and Korra were there, along with Tenzin and chief Beifong.

“You're okay!” Mako hugged his brother. “I was worried when you ran off from the restaurant.”“Yeah, I was worried that you and Korra were about to duke it out!”

“Yeah...” Korra looked abashed. “We kinda did. That restaurant is going to need some renovations. By the time we realized you were gone...the effect had worn off.”

“What effect is this you think is happening?” Chief Beifong asked. Her arms were crossed and her face was it's usual scowl. She looked Bolin up and down, making him blush again, even as Kira began kissing his neck _again_ , her arms twined around him.

“That!” Korra said, pointing at Kira, who was stripping her shirt off.

“Those two are always like that,” Lin scoffed. “Teenagers are all horny rabbaroos.”

“All the girls he meets are doing that!” Korra said.

“Not you.”

“No I...have a different reaction.”

“Oh?” Lin looked back at Bolin. “Hm. He is awfully strapping. And a powerful good Earthbender, I'll admit that. Easy on the eyes. Flaky, and kind of an idiot, but honest.” She took another step forward, but Tenzin put a hand on her shoulder.

“Lin, when have you ever looked at a Bolin and thought these things before? He's young enough to be your son!”

“Like that stopped you?” Lin snapped, and Tenzin looked positively flustered, his face red, his mustache twitching.

“That was different!”

“Um, Bolin?” Mako averted his gaze as Bolin's girlfriend dropped her shirt completely to the ground and began grinding urgently against him. Bolin was sweating and shifting from foot to foot anxiously. “Do you want us to like...lock her up?”

“No! Don't hurt her!” Bolin pleaded. He did his best to turn so that she was shielded from view, but it was useless.

“Come on,” Korra took Kira by one elbow, and Mako took the other, and they frog-marched a protesting Kira to her and Bolin's bedroom door, where they promptly pushed her in and closed the door behind her. “I love you!” Bolin called miserably. “I'm sorry!”

“Are we going to have to lock you up too, Lin?” Tenzin asked. Chief Beifong's face flushed dangerously and her scowl deepened.

“I think I can control myself,” she growled. “I'm allowed to _look_.”

Korra stomped over and stood protectively by Bolin, taking one of his arms in hers.

“Do we need to lock you up Korra?” Tenzin asked. “Because I'm not sure we _could_.”

“I don't think Bolin is good looking at all,” Korra said bluntly, eliciting a wounded gasp from Bolin. “He's like a baby brother to me. Helpless, vulnerable little baby Bolin.” She reached up and patted his head, and Bolin slumped his shoulders miserably.

“Okay. Tell us from the beginning what happened.” Tenzin said with a sigh.

Mako and Bolin recounted their tale.

“Idiots,” Chief Beifong muttered. “You should have asked that woman at the shop how to break the curse instead of running away!”

“She kissed me!” Bolin moaned. “And it was gross because she was like 80 years old and her breath was like fish flakes. And Mako was all protective and super-annoyed.”

“Not because of the curse, you were just being super-annoying!”

“And you two couldn't hand an 80 year old woman together??” Lin asked. “Was she some master bender?”

“No,” Mako grumbled, crossing his arms. “You're right it was stupid.”

“So we go back now,” Korra suggested. Tenzin and I can go and try to reason with her, get her to tell us what we need to know.”

“I'll stay and guard Bolin,” Mako said. “I don't want anyone taking advantage of him.”

“Um, actually, you could just let Kira out and leave us here...” Bolin suggested, but Korra frowned.

“She's not in her right mind.”

Bolin sighed and laid his head on the table and cried. “This is the worst day ever!”

“Oh get over yourself... you sexy, pathetic man-child.” She turned her hungry green eyes on Bolin, who sobbed harder onto the table.

“Alright! Lin you're going with us!” Tenzin pulled the chief to her feet and shepherded her to the door. “We'll be back with answers, one way or another!”

Korra stood and gave Mako a hard look. “You watch him like he's _your_ baby.”

“He _is_ my baby brother,” Mako said, annoyed. “Just get him some help.”

Korra nodded, and she, Tenzin, and Chief Beifong filed out to get some answers.

* * *

Kira's pounding on the bedroom door was insistent for a long time, and then she was quiet. Finally, Mako ventured over to check on her. He rapped softly on the door.

“Kira, are you alright?”

“I'm okay, but what's happening? Please, Bolin said that something was wrong and he needed help! I have to help him!”

  
“We've got it under control.” Mako used his police officer voice, firm and reassuring.

“Then let me out! I want to see him!”

“You can't. He's under a love spell.”

There was long silence on the other side of the door.

“What?”

Mako repeated what the old woman at the shop had said about hyped-up emotions and recounted the early part of their adventure to her.

“I still want to see him. Please. Maybe now that I know what's happening, I can...control myself.”

Mako sighed and looked over at where Bolin was slumped on the couch plucking stray threads off of a ratty blanket. “Okay fine.” He opened the door, and Kira stood abashedly. She'd donned a new shirt and looked like her normal self.

“Thank you,” she said primly to Mako. Bolin, having heard the door open, popped to his feet hopefully, but stayed back. He kept thinking about what Korra had said, about how if Kira wasn't in her right state of mind, it would basically be like taking advantage of her if they got intimate, and it was like a stab to his heart. He felt terrible, and he wanted to hug her and smell her and kiss her, and also what if there was no cure? He imagined having to live alone in a cave on some remote mountaintop, warning away lusty visitors with rivers of lava. When she appeared in the doorway, he let out a breath he'd been holding, and gave her a hopeful smile.

“Hey,” Kira approached and they joined hands. “Mako told me what happened. Are you alright?”

“I don't know. It's been...strange. Korra is treating me like a baby sparrowkeet, Mako yells at me for no reason, and I feel like all of the women in Republic City are trying to jump me, which my younger self might have thought would be really cool but is actually _terrifying_! Plus I feel guilty for embarrassing you at your lecture class, and for kissing that old lady, and for when Korra smooshed me into her boobs, and--”

Mako smacked his palm to his forehead, and Kira burst into laughter. “If this potion amplifies emotions, then it just makes me love you even more. Besides, all these girls trying to get with you just makes me even luckier that I actually _do_ get to be with you.” She stepped up on her tiptoes to kiss him, a quick, chaste peck on the lips. Her face flushed a little bit though, and she was breathless just from being so close to him. “Oh, my. I need to sit down...” she stepped back and sat beside Mako, who made room awkwardly and avoided touching her. “It's like...I'm on fire and you're the bucket of water.”

Kira forced herself to close her eyes and count to ten, and when she opened them, she looked much calmer and more restrained, though the waves of lust coming off of her were making Bolin's pants very uncomfortable. He turned pink and put a pillow over his lap.

It was an awkward wait.

* * *

The door to the apartment slammed open. “We're back! And we have the antidote!” Korra gleefully held up a pink bottle that looked almost identical to the one that Bolin had broken that morning. Tenzin and Lin followed, Lin hanging back nervously, avoiding looking at anyone directly, her face red.

“We had to pay a premium for it,” Tenzin grumbled. “The old lady claimed that you never filed the police report for her missing crystal ball.”

Mako stood and crossed his arms. “We were a little bit distracted,” he grumbled.

Korra made her way over to Bolin and handed him the bottle. It said “Potion Neutralizer” on the plain gray label.

“Do I drink it or pour it on myself?” Bolin asked nervously. “And it's not going to like...make everyone hate me, is it?”

“Dunno,” Korra said. “You'll have to take your chances.”

“Drink it,” Tenzin said. “The shopkeeper was clear about that.”

Bolin closed his eyes and downed the tiny bottle in one gulp. Everyone watched, holding their breath. He opened his eyes one at a time and then glanced around, anxious. “Did it work?”

“No,” Kira said, biting her lip and staring at Bolin with feverish longing.

“I have no idea,” Mako said, frowning.

“Yes,” Lin sagged in her seat and blew out a relieved breath. “That was the weirdest thing I have ever felt in my life!”

“Oh my god did I call you 'baby Bolin'?” Korra asked, rubbing her forehead in confusion.

“Wohoo!” Bolin jumped up in the air. Kira, Mako, and Korra all glomped onto him in a hug.

* * *

“I can't believe I missed that,” Asami said, her arms crossed and lips in a pout. They were all sitting around a table in a little ice cream shop. Mako had just finished filling in Asami on the gist of what had happened the day before, though his account hadn't been very thorough.

“We had enough trouble keeping Chief Beifong from jumping his bones, and Kira, and pretty much every other woman we passed on the street.” Mako said with a roll of his eyes. He took a lick of his own ice cream with as much disdain was was possible while eating a delicious treat. “No need to add more crazy women to the mix.

“Excuse you?” Asami narrowed her eyes at Mako and pointed her spoon at him dangerously. “I have never once tried to get with Bolin. I think of him like a brother, thank you very much.” She licked her ice cream daintily. “Plus my attraction leans more...feminine, as good-looking as you are, Bolin.” She put her hand on Korra's and winked at Bolin.

“Mako is just jealous,” Bolin said, his cheeks pink. He put an arm around Kira, who was sitting next to him on one side, while Mako scowled at him on the other side.

“That you made out with an 80 year old woman? Not likely.” Mako scoffed.

Bolin frowned for a second, and then pushed the cone of ice cream that Mako was eating onto his brother's face smearing chocolate all over his nose.

“You jerk!” Mako grabbed some ice cream from Bolin's bowl and wiped it across the younger man's face.

“Boys!” Korra admonished. “Be civil or I'll take your treats away. And you both know I _can_.” Asami hid a laugh behind her hands, and Kira giggled. She took a napkin and wiped Bolin's face gently while he scowled furtively at Mako.

“Did you ever find who stole the old woman's crystal ball?” Asami asked. Mako wiped is face off with as much dignity as he could muster before answering.

“Yes, actually. It was a disgruntled customer. The fortune-teller had apparently predicted something that the customer was unhappy about, so she broke in and stole the crystal ball in retaliation.”

“That is the most boring conclusion ever,” Korra said. “What was the prediction? That the customer would become a criminal?”

Asami laughed, but Mako flushed slightly. “Apparently, it was something like that. The perp was already a criminal—we've linked her to several robberies up and down that block since we brought her down to headquarters—and she was afraid that the fortune teller was on to her.”

“So she stole the crystal ball?”

“Yeah,” Bolin perked up. “That makes sense! So that the fortune-teller can't tell where she's about to strike!”

“That makes no sense,” Mako countered. “Because fortune-telling is _fake_.”

“So you think that Chief Beifong hitting on me was what? Some kind of practical joke?”

Asami giggled. “I would pay to have seen _that_. I can't imagine her hitting on anyone. She's so...rigid. What did she do?”

“She called him flaky, but strapping,” Korra reported. “Which is true.”

“I'm not flaky,” Bolin pouted. “And she also said I'm a powerful earthbender, and easy on the eyes!”

“And an idiot,” Mako reminded him.

“You're not an idiot,” Kira said, giving Bolin a peck on the cheek. It tasted sweet, from where Mako had smeared ice cream on him. “And most of the women in Republic City find you attractive enough to bone you...we can't all be wrong.”

“Just not me,” Korra said with a smile. “Baby Bolin.”

“That is _not_ allowed to be my nickname!” Bolin protested. “How about Sexy Bolin? Irrisistible Bolin? Beefy Bolin anyone?”

Kira patted his hand sympathetically. “Don't worry about them. But also, maybe never go back to that shop every again, okay?” She kissed him again, much less chaste this time, until Mako threw his jacket over their heads and they broke apart, laughing.

“To be continued,” Kira whispered, her hand on his thigh.

The End


End file.
